Obafemi Awolowo

Obafemi Awolowo (6 March 1909-9 May 1987) was Premier of Western Nigeria from 1 October 1954 to 1 October 1960, preceding Samuel Akintola. Awolowo was a prominent Nigerian socialist who played a major role in the Nigerian independence movement and passing progressive social legislation in Nigeria.

Biography
Obafemi Awolowo was born in Ikenne, Ogun State, Nigeria on 6 March 1909, thje son of a Yoruba peasant. Awolowo was a newspaper reporter and trade union leader until he went to London, where he became a lawyer in 1944. During this time, he wrote Path to Nigerian Freedom, in which he argued for internal autonomy of each Nigerian tribe within a loose federation, advocating for Nigerian independence. Back in Nigeria, he founded the Action Group of Nigeria to preserve Yoruba culture in 1951, and he became Premier of Western Nigeria in 1954. In 1963, he was imprisoned for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the federal government, but he was released in 1966 by Yakubu Gowon, whomh e supported in the war with Biafra against the Ibo people. In 1978, he founded the Unity Party of Nigeria and stood for president, but he was defeated and his party banned in 1983. He died in Ikenne in 1987.